Shoe Strings

and squirrels he considered
neighbors.   He’d just turned around
to head back inside when he heard Lita’s screen door slam shut and her and
Jesse talking.   Cal shielded his
eyes with his hand and watched as Jesse carried what looked like a beach bag to
the Scout and strapped Lita into the passenger seat.
    “Hummm,” he said to no one and sat in one of the
rockers.   Just where were those two
heading, looking all cozy and chipper first thing in the morning?   He wasn’t going to get any answers from
Ty, that was for sure.   With the
push of his foot, he started the rocker in motion and decided to watch the sun
rise.   He normally didn’t take the
time to enjoy it.   Sunrise was
Ellie’s favorite time of day.   She’d
bring her coffee out and rock until the sun illuminated all the flowers and
bushes she’d planted over the years.   Then she’d head out to see to the plants, damn near all day long.  
    He ached for her now and the calm common sense she could
bring to any situation.   She’d
always been the buffer between his and Jesse’s bullheaded personalities.   What a mess he’d made of things, he
thought, as Jesse started the Scout and headed down the drive.   Ellie would be mad at him for throwing
old issues in Jesse’s face, especially after all the time that had passed.   “I screwed up, El,” he mumbled to the
early morning sky.   “I screwed up
big-time.”   The problem was, without
her here, he wasn’t sure how to fix it.
    ***
    Jesse had felt nervous earlier on the drive over to the
cabins.   He didn’t know if it was
from the possibility of seeing Cal again or adolescent nerves over spending
time with Angelita.   The time they’d
spend together had become important; he’d made it important.   What he couldn’t figure out was
why.   Just another mystery.
    After Jesse hesitated on the driveway, Ty mercifully waved
good-bye and headed straight to Cal’s.   He could have kissed the kid for not insisting he join him.   That was one crisis avoided.   And truth be told, he’d wanted to gauge
Angelita’s reaction to him, and only him, when she answered her door this
morning.  
    He didn’t know what he’d expected her to be wearing,
something completely frilly and useless, he supposed.   But when she answered the door in shorts
and a tank top he smiled.   Somewhere
inside her lived a practical person.   He could see the tie to her bathing suit and the flash of bare skin he
got when she reached for a coffee mug told him her suit was a bikini.   He thanked God for small favors.  
    “You wear contacts?” he asked.
    She didn’t hesitate while straightening up the kitchen or
even wonder why he was asking.   “No,
not even reading glasses—yet.”
    “Any medication you take daily?”   He was pushing it, but figured it’d be
best if she didn’t leave anything necessary behind.
    She turned to face him at that question.   “Everything I need is in my purse.   Why do you ask?”
    Jesse slugged down the rest of his coffee, placed the mug in
the sink.   “Just the standard
questions I ask all rafters on a day trip,” he hedged.   “Wouldn’t want any surprises while we’re
on the water.”
    “I thought you said we were going on an easy ride.”   The panic on her face was vivid.   “Like a lazy river float.”
    “We are, but there are basic safety issues we need to
cover.”   She eyed him suspiciously
and picked up her purse.
    “Ready or not.”   She followed Jesse out the door.
    Once on the road, Jesse turned the stereo on low and stole a
glance at Angelita.   She looked
nervous with her hands gripping the seat edges as her hair flew wildly around
her head.  
    After they’d gone a few miles out of town, Angelita asked,
“Where’s your place?”
    “You mean my shop?”   He knew perfectly well what she was asking.   She nodded and swept her hair into a
mock bun to keep it from lacerating her face.  
    “About three miles east of here, back toward Sequoyah
Falls.”
      She nodded again
and then gripped his arm as it rested on the gearshift.   “Wait a minute.   If your shop is back toward Sequoyah
Falls, why are we headed this way?”
    Weren’t women, especially beautiful women, supposed to have
terrible senses of direction?   He
thought they’d be much farther out of town before she figured out something
wasn’t right.   “I only do class two
through four at my place.   Since you
insisted on class one, we’ve got to go